C is for Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits (Jessica)

Dear Cheese Lovers,

I've got a (not so) secret for you: I love cheese. Cheese is in my all time top five list of favorite foods (probably number 3 or 4, depending on my mood).
I think it started in 2004 when my family took a trip to England and France with my grandparents. Trying to be all adventurous, I ate all kinds of weird food in France (most notably, pigeon) and expanded my food horizons. My sister ordered the dessert cheese plate as her main course for most of our meals. I remember thinking at the time that she was missing out, but after that trip, I gave cheese more of a chance and I think she had it spot on! Goat, Brie, Gouda, oh my!
So the moral of the story is, of course, cheese is delicious and don't make fun of your younger sister ;)

When a new cheese store opened up about 8 months ago in my area, I was thrilled. They have a lovely glass walk-in refrigerator to display their cheeses and they are happy to give me lots of yummy tastes!
For this week, I decided to go cheddar. I sampled some different kinds at the cheese store, and went with a lovely very sharp white cheddar as the inspiration for this recipe!

Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits 
adapted from this Cozy Kitchen recipe
(makes about 20)

 
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chipotle powder (you could add more, I'm just a wuss)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (that seemed like a lot to me, but it worked)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt (I would omit this next time)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups grated and tightly packed sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (cold)
1 large egg
salt for topping

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pepper, chipotle powder, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and the teaspoon of salt.

3) Add the butter and work the butter into the dough using your hands or a wooden spoon (note: when I tried to use a spoon I promptly got flour all over my kitchen floor, so stick to using your hands). The mixture should (vaguely) look like coarse sand (except not the right color for sand).

Add the cheese and stir to thoroughly incorporate it into the dough.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix.

5) Use a small ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the dough and drop it in mounds onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (make them bigger than mine below).

Sprinkle with salt and bake in the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes (mine baked for 17), rotating baking sheet halfway through. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit comes out clean.

6) Transfer to a cooling rack. Biscuits can be served slightly warm or at room temperature, consider serving with jam!

Review: 
Well, these were very tasty right out of the oven (I may or may not have eaten four), but I would definitely adjust them if I made them again. First of all, I wouldn't add any extra salt. Using a sharp cheddar cheese gave them enough of a salty flavor, nothing more was needed. Secondly, I made them too small. I have a tendency to make small cookies, or mini-cupcakes, or cut things into bite-sized pieces; that doesn't work for biscuits. Make them big and they will look and feel more biscuit-like! And finally, these are really best when they are still warm out of the oven. Yes, you can store them and eat them the next day, but they lose their crunchy outside and flakiness inside. I suggest making them for an event where they will all get eaten right away!

Say cheese!

-Jessica